N.C. State falls behind early, drops baseball series to Florida State

By Bob Sutton / Times-News

Published: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 12:43 AM.

RALEIGH — North Carolina State’s baseball team couldn’t come up with a clutch performance when it needed one, with more woes in early innings proving devastating in Monday night’s 8-4 loss to visiting Florida State.

The outcome put Florida State 1 ½ games ahead in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division, while the matchup of top-10 teams at Doak Field could impact top-line seedings for the NCAA Tournament.

“This obviously was a huge series for both teams,” N.C. State center fielder Brett Williams said. “It was tough.”

N.C. State (39-13 overall, 16-10 ACC) lost for the second day in a row after winning the series opener. The results could be a serious indicator as teams jockey for one of the top eight national seeds.

“We were playing well (coming into the series),” said N.C. State coach Elliott Avent, whose team lost consecutive games for the first time since Virginia pulled a three-game sweep March 23-24. “I thought (Florida State was) outstanding. They punched us in the mouth (but) I got the feeling we were coming (back) and I think they thought that, too.”

Marcus Davis homered in each of the first two innings, giving him a team-high nine for the season, as Florida State (42-10, 18-9) remained one of the country’s hottest teams. The Seminoles have won 11 of 12 games.

Florida State’s Stephen McGee belted his eighth home run of the season in the first inning off freshman left-hander Brad Stone. Davis, the next batter, clubbed an opposite-field shot that hit off the top of the fence and bounced over near the left-field line.

RALEIGH — North Carolina State’s baseball team couldn’t come up with a clutch performance when it needed one, with more woes in early innings proving devastating in Monday night’s 8-4 loss to visiting Florida State.

The outcome put Florida State 1 ½ games ahead in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division, while the matchup of top-10 teams at Doak Field could impact top-line seedings for the NCAA Tournament.

“This obviously was a huge series for both teams,” N.C. State center fielder Brett Williams said. “It was tough.”

N.C. State (39-13 overall, 16-10 ACC) lost for the second day in a row after winning the series opener. The results could be a serious indicator as teams jockey for one of the top eight national seeds.

“We were playing well (coming into the series),” said N.C. State coach Elliott Avent, whose team lost consecutive games for the first time since Virginia pulled a three-game sweep March 23-24. “I thought (Florida State was) outstanding. They punched us in the mouth (but) I got the feeling we were coming (back) and I think they thought that, too.”

Marcus Davis homered in each of the first two innings, giving him a team-high nine for the season, as Florida State (42-10, 18-9) remained one of the country’s hottest teams. The Seminoles have won 11 of 12 games.

Florida State’s Stephen McGee belted his eighth home run of the season in the first inning off freshman left-hander Brad Stone. Davis, the next batter, clubbed an opposite-field shot that hit off the top of the fence and bounced over near the left-field line.

Stone (2-2) was replaced after Jose Brizuela’s two-out RBI double that gave Florida State a 4-0 first-inning lead.

Florida State, which led 6-0 after two innings a day earlier, had only one hit across the last four innings.

“We kind of struggled out of the gates the last two games and that can be tough on your confidence,” Williams said.

Even with its dismal beginning, the Wolfpack showed life. In the third inning while trailing 6-1, Tarran Senay stroked a two-out blast with two runners on base that was caught against the wall by right fielder James Winston.

“(Senay) didn’t understand why that ball didn’t get out,” Avent said.

It was 8-1 after John Sansone’s two-run single for the Seminoles off the left-field wall in the fifth.

The Wolfpack narrowed the gap to 8-3 on Bryan Adametz’s two-run double in the sixth. A long flyout by Trea Turner with two outs and two runners on base ended the inning.

Scott Sitz (9-1) was the winning pitcher, working into the sixth inning.

-- EXTRA BASES …: Gov. Pat McCrory threw out the ceremonial first pitch and then received a hug from Avent. … At least N.C. State fans had something to cheer about early in the game because before the bottom of the first inning, the ACC champion softball team received a standing ovation when it was recognized on the field. … Florida State will return to the Triangle for the ACC Tournament next week. It will be a busier trip than originally scheduled because the Seminoles added a game to fill out their schedule. They’ll have a top-10 showdown with North Carolina next Monday night in Chapel Hill. The teams don’t meet in the ACC regular season.